September 18, 2010

Heres a curious find from a car boot, this summer. As is so often the case, just as we were about to leave, this brilliant educational pack turned up on the penultimate stall.

Released by The Textile Councils, Education department, this box has all manner of samples relating to the cotton industry. Britain's Cottons- Samples of Cotton, from field to fabric is beautifully designed and details various aspects of the industry for the year 1969.

A couple of statistics from the printed sheet above, stand out. In 1969 a total of 122,029 people were employed in the textile industry, and the UK exported £53,227,000 worth of cotton and man made fibre that year. I wonder what the figures were for the UK, last year?

Above are some close ups of the sample book, along with a Cotton Boll sample. I bet The Textile council dont send boxes like this out to schools anymore?

September 17, 2010

I just couldnt resist this pull along toy from Fisher Price. Apparently made between 1966 and 1978. He has a wooden base and a plastic grill. As he goes on his way his sprung head wobbles, and the wheels makes a great "putt-putt" sound

September 10, 2010

Over the years weve picked up a small collection of Richard Scarry Puzzletown figures. They were released by Playskool, in 1976, and there were five sets in the series. The 2" figures were solid plastic, but the buildings were made of card, that all slotted together, and sat on plastic bases. Below you can see one of the buildings from Set E, Lowly Worms Rail Roadway .